The Tribune

By TENAJH SWEETING

tsweeting@tribunemedia.net

The C.H. Reeves Raptors destroyed the competition in convincing fashion to win the 2023 Government Secondary Schools Sports Association (GSSSA) junior championships.

The Raptors, who are no strangers to the first place position, remained atop team rankings for two consecutive days with a final score of 533. The S.C. McPherson Sharks tried to keep up with the defending champions but came in 186 points behind the winners for a score of 347. The H.O. Nash Lions finished the GSSSA junior division championships in third place with a team score of 229.33, barely holding off the Tigers of A.F. Adderley. The Tigers finished in fourth with 228.50.

As day two of the GSSSA championships wrapped up, there was lots of action for the juniors on both the track and field.

The Raptors set the standard for the junior division as they were able to defeat their competitors in the under 15 boys’ 200m dash.

Denim Stuart, who emerged victorious in numerous races at yesterday’s meet, came out on top with a time of 24.47. Second place finish belonged to D.W. Davis’ Delvon Barton who clocked 24.92.

In third was the H.O. Nash Lions’ Johnathon Higgs who ran a time of 25.03.

De’Ante Joseph, winner of the under 13 boys’ 800m finals, bested the competition with a time of 2:43.29.

Joseph was followed by Kaiden Newbold of the L.W. Young Eagles who notched 2:43.58. Joseph of the Raptors was joined by fellow teammate Jermaine Moxey for third who ran 2:49.48.

Joseph was one of the GSSSA’s highest male individual scorers for the under 13 division. He ended the track and field championships with an individual score of 38 points which was a big help to the reigning champions.

Varel Davis, GSSSA president and head coach of the Raptors, talked about how impressed she was with the way the young Raptors competed at this year’s meet.

“I am very impressed when you look at C.H. Reeves children, at the end of every race we are the only team probably standing up tall. I taught them that you gotta finish and you gotta finish strong and go hard,” Davis said.

The athletes seemingly followed their coach’s advice as they dominated in both the under 13 girls and boys 4x400m relays.

For the under 13 girls the relay team of Neveah Stuart, Rayniece Gibson, Whitney Guerrier, and Fredricka Auguste blitzed the competition with a time of 5:00.86. The Raptors were followed behind by the Lions relay team who clocked 5:31.68. The T.A. Thompson Scorpions finished the relay in third place.

Fredericka Auguste, the fourth leg runner of the under 13 girls’ relay team, talked about how it felt to come out on top.

“I feel so excited, thank you for all my coaches for supporting me and all my teammates,” Auguste said.

For the boys’ relay team Travon Moncur, Kevin Sinsurin, Jermaine Moxey, and De’Ante Joseph gave it their all in the finals. The boys’ team ran a scorching time of 4:43.59, leaving the competition to fend for first and second place. The Sharks relay team came second with a time of 5:05.11 and the Scorpions placed third with 5:07.96.

With her young athletes solidifying the victory in the relay finals, Davis talked about how happy she was with this year’s GSSSA title defence. She said she was worried about how the athletes would compete after the pandemic but she credited hard work and practice for why they are the champs once again.

The Raptors not only took care of business on the track but they emerged as winners in field events also. In the under 13 boys’ high jump, Kevin Sinsurin came first after jumping 1.27m. Also, in the under 15 girls javelin throw, Rania Douglas notched a throwing distance of 16.57m in the event’s finals. The junior school will now go into celebration mode after this GSSSA victory.

Despite a strong showing from the reigning champions the Sharks took a bite out of the competition to secure second place overall.

Alliyah Coleby, winner of the under 13 girls 200m dash, secured the victory for the Sharks. She ran a time of 29.34 to edge out the rest of the competitors. Cashanique Rolle of the Royals placed second and the Sharks’ Devonique Pratt placed third.

Coleby was thankful for the 200m win. She said it felt good to win and for the hard work she put into her race to finally pay off.

In the under 13 boys 200m finals, Gilberto Bain emerged on top after running a time of 28.11. Bain was joined by the Lions’ Dylan Delahey and Johnathon Linton who placed second and third respectively.

The Sharks once again brought home a win in the under 13 girls 800m finals as Trenae Scavella clocked 2:52.50 in the race.

Sharks’ head coach Neketa Sears-Knowles talked about how it felt to place second at the GSSSA meet.

“C.H. Reeves is hard to beat no doubt [but] I am extremely proud of the performances that the kids have done over the past two days in fact they even surprised me so I am very pleased with the performances so we’ll take that,” Knowles said.

Knowles had a lot to be proud of as the Sharks’ young athletes came in first and second in the under 15 girls 75m hurdles. Kelisha Tanelus and Jamya Satchel placed first and second respectively.

In more action from the Sharks, Emmit Smith emerged victorious in the under 15 boys 800m finals.

With CH Reeves comfortably defending their reigning GSSSA title for the junior division, the C.R. Walker Knights will look to do the same on the final day of the meet.

The Knights remain atop team rankings with a team score of 300 followed by the C.V. Bethel Stingrays with 235. The R.M. Bailey Pacers are right behind the fold with 187.50 and will look to edge out the C.I. Gibson Rattlers who trail closely behind for 4th place.

The final day of the GSSSA track and field championships will start at 9:30am this morning as the senior schools will look to crown a champion.